A question for all of you Chinese MA guys.

Alright, my primary style is Judo, but during the summer school break, we don't have training sessions. My friend who does Tai Chi Chuan invited me to his school for a little cross training. In your opinion, would Judo and TCC make a good match? In addition to this, the instructor claimss to have a 4th Dan or equivilent rank in Tai Chi. Is there such a ranking system in TCC similar to the belt rank system in Judo?
Thanks in advance.

the odds are very much against you getting anything useful out of the training, but that doesn't mean that it's not possible. if they do something similar to randori regularly then it will be worthwhile, if not, then probably a waste of time.

"Face punches are an essential character building part of a martial art. You don't truly love your children unless you allow them to get punched in the face." - chi-conspiricy
"When I was a little boy, I had a sailor suit, but it didn't mean I was in the Navy." - Mtripp on the subject of a 5 year old karate black belt
"Without actual qualifications to be a Zen teacher, your instructor is just another roundeye raping Asian culture for a buck." - Errant108
"Seriously, who gives a **** what you or Errant think? You're Asian males, everyone just ignores you, unless you're in a krotty movie." - new2bjj

the odds are very much against you getting anything useful out of the training, but that doesn't mean that it's not possible. if they do something similar to randori regularly then it will be worthwhile, if not, then probably a waste of time.

Do you not think Push Hands would help with Kazushi(sp?)?

I've always thought any Tai Chi would help Judo guys but maybe i'm thinking of it wrong. Maybe it's just a case of Tai Chi being a long winded, over analysed version of what you learn in Judo.

I've always thought any Tai Chi would help Judo guys but maybe i'm thinking of it wrong. Maybe it's just a case of Tai Chi being a long winded, over analysed version of what you learn in Judo.

that depends *very much* on how they do push hands. we have a thread in this forum about good push hands vs. bad push hands that should be very enlightening. sorry that i can't find the link for you right now, but i am a bit busy.

"Face punches are an essential character building part of a martial art. You don't truly love your children unless you allow them to get punched in the face." - chi-conspiricy
"When I was a little boy, I had a sailor suit, but it didn't mean I was in the Navy." - Mtripp on the subject of a 5 year old karate black belt
"Without actual qualifications to be a Zen teacher, your instructor is just another roundeye raping Asian culture for a buck." - Errant108
"Seriously, who gives a **** what you or Errant think? You're Asian males, everyone just ignores you, unless you're in a krotty movie." - new2bjj

One of the cool things that you pick up from TCC is redirection of force. When doing pushing hands, the idea is to get the other guy off balance. A good TCC person will take incoming force aimed just about anywhere and let it slip by/around them.

Good TCC is all about making your skeleton do the work, not the muscles. Its all about body structure, grounding and balance.

Is that going to be 1:1 useful in Judo? I don't know. But it seems to me that there would be several elements of it that would translate pretty well.

However, earlier posters are correct. There are plenty of TCC instructors who don't do pushing hands. You would need to find one that does.

Most people think of old people in the park when they think of TCC. However, it *IS* a combat art. Those slow movements done for health are fighting moves slowed WAY down. There are locks and throws and tons of other fun stuff in there. Most of the places I have found don't teach it that way though.

Another style that might be useful to a Judo player is Baquazhang. It has lots of tight circular movements that generate power through rotation of your body around its axis. My opinion is that it has a higher learning curve than Tai Chi Chuan, though. Part of my training is in Fu style Bagua, but frankly it makes me dizzy :)